Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao said Thursday that China will strengthen friendly cooperation with Peru so as to bring more benefit to the peoples of the two countries.

Bilateral ties have developed in a healthy and smooth way since China and Peru established diplomatic ties 37 years ago, Hu said during a meeting with Peruvian Congress President Javier Velasquez.

In recent years, mutual political trust has grown steadily, and bilateral economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges have been fruitful, the Chinese president said.

China and Peru have also maintained good coordination and cooperation in international affairs, Hu said, adding that the two peoples are trustworthy friends and good partners for sincere cooperation.

"The purpose of my visit is to deepen the friendship, promote mutual trust, expand cooperation and seek common development," the Chinese president said.

China and Peru are both at a crucial stage of social and economic development, and shoulder the task of safeguarding world peace and development, Hu said.

They should enhance friendly cooperation so as to bring more benefit to their peoples and make contributions to world peace, stability and prosperity, he noted.

Hu expressed the belief that his visit will push forward the strategic partnership between the two countries.

For a long period of time, Peru's parliament and political parties, an important force for promoting bilateral ties, have attached importance to and supported the development of the country's relations with China, he said.

The president said China supports the two countries' legislatures in their efforts to strengthen exchanges, so as to promote the mutual understanding between the two peoples and deepen their friendship.

Velasquez said Peru's parliament attaches great importance to Peru-China relations.

He hailed the successful conclusion of the negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries, saying Peru's parliament will offer legislative support for the implementation of the accords on mutually beneficial cooperation and of all the consensus reached between the two countries.

Velasquez said President Hu's visit will advance the two nations' friendly exchanges and cooperation in such areas as politics, economy and society.

Hu arrived in Lima Wednesday for a state visit to Peru and also the Economic Leaders' Informal Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum slated for Nov. 22-23.